Garment hanger



July 4, 1939. w. w. YKIEYS GARMENT HANGER Filed July 2, 1937 /9 a 4 14 7. m 2/ /Z 2 Z ew V N A 7' fox/v5 Y Patented July 4, 1939 UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

'7 Claims.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved garment hanger adapted to hold trousers having bottoms which differ quite widely in size. Another object is to provide a combined coat and trousers hanger. A further object is to provide a garment hanger provided with a novel cam arrangement whereby the hanger may be expanded or contracted to engage or disengage the bottoms of a pair of trousers.

Referring to the drawing- Fig. 1 is an elevation view of a combined coat and trousers hanger Fig. 2 is an elevation view of a modified type of hanger;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section'of Fig. 1 in the plane 3-3;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section in the'plane 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section of Fig. 4 in the plane 5-5;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section in the plane 9-6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary end elevation view of the device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary end elevation of the device shown in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary section of Fig. 1 in the plane 99.

Referring to the drawing, my hanger comprises a wire frame I preferably formed of two pieces of wire each bent into the form of a U, as shown at 2 in Fig. '7, and which are secured together with their ends 3 (see Fig. 1) in opposed or abutted relation by means of the sleeve element 4 (see Figs. 1, 2 and 3). Where the garment hanger is to be used both for coats and trousers, the frame ispreferably curved as shown in Fig. 1, but where the device is used only as a trousers hanger, the frame is straight as shown at 5 in Fig. 2. However, in either case, the frame comprises spaced, parallel rods or wires 6 and I.

Slidably mounted on the frame 5 to move toward'and away from each other are the trousersengaging elements 8 each of which preferably comprises a single piece of wire bent to the general configuration shown in Figs. 2, 6 and 8. One end of the wire is formed with an eye 9 as shownin Fig. 8 which engages one of the side wires 1 of the frame;

The wire depends from the eye 9 as shown at III, in Figs. 2 and '3, and is then bent into. a. plurality of loops I l lying substantially in the plane of the side member 'I of the frame and adapted to be'inserted'within'and engage the inside of the bottom of oneof the trousers legs. After the formation of the loops, the wire is bent upwardly as shown at I2 and partially around the side member I of the frame as shown at I3 in Fig. 6. It is then carried across the space between the side members of the frame and bent partially around the other member, as shown at I4 in Fig. 6, to form a plurality of loops similar to the loops II which depend below and lie substantially in the plane of the other side member 6 of the frame, and which are adapted to be inserted in and engage the other leg of the trousers. In other Words, each of the trousers-engaging elements comprises two series of loops disposed in parallel planes, one behind the other as viewed in Fig. 2. The end of the wire is finally brought up, as shown at III in Fig. 8, and the end is looped around the frame member 6, as shown at I5. In practice, it is to be understood that the trousers-engaging elements are preformed and that the U-shaped frame members are passed through the eyes thereof before the U-shaped elements are secured together. It will also be apparent from the foregoing that the trousersengaging elements may slide toward and away from each other along the side members of the frame.

In order to draw the trousers-engaging elements toward each other whereby to insert them readily in the bottoms of the trousers legs and also to hold them in spaced-apart,garment-engaging relation, I employ a hook or hanger element represented generally at I6 which cooperates with each of the trousers-engaging elements. The hook element I6 is also preferably formed of wire bent to form an eye II at the top with depending diverging arms I8 and I9. The arm I8, as shown in Fig. 2, is a single strand of wire having its end looped about that portion of the trousers hanger I2 which extends'across or between the frame members 6 and I, as shown at 20. The other arm I9 also comprises a single strand of wire but the end portion, instead of being eyed or bent closely about that portion of the trousers hanger which extends between the members I5 and 'I of the frame, is bent around as shown in Fig. 2 to form what might be termed a cam slot 2I through which the portion 2| (see Fig. 6) of the trousers-engaging element passes and with which it cooperates as a cam follower.

Assuming that the trousers-engaging element shown at the right in Fig. 2 is held in fixed relation to the frame and the hook element is moved down to the position shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, the trousers-engaging"elements at the left will be moved toward those at the right or,

in other words, the spacing between the trousersengaging elements at the opposite sides of the frame will be reduced and they ,may be readily inserted in the trousers legs. Thereafter, by raising the hook element to its normal position as a hanger, the cam action will force the trousers-engaging element at the left away from the element at the right and cause the loops firmly to engage the inside of the bottoms of the trousers. By providing a plurality of spaced loops II, the trousers engaging elements are adapted to cooperate with trousers bottoms of any size.

Where the hanger is to function as a combined coat and trousers hanger, I prefer to curve the frame elements as shown in Fig. 1 and, in order to maintain the upper surface of the device along the frame as smooth as possible so as not to produce deformations in a coat hanging thereon, I may connect the trousers-engaging elements to the frame in a somewhat different manner. Here, the trousers-engaging elements are substantially identical with the elements described in connection with Fig. 2. That is to say, each is formed from a single piece of wire bent into a plurality of loops as shown, but instead of bending the wire around or partially around the frame members in the manner described in connection with Fig. 2, I may use cast metal blocks, such as illustrated-in Figs. 1, i, 5, 7 and 9, which are designed to slide on the frame elements and which are provided with recesses for the reception and retention of the ends of wire forming the trousers-engaging elements.

The blocks 22 are shown in enlarged sectional views in Figs. 4 and 5. At thetop, these blocks are provided with spaced passages 23 through which the side members 6 and I of the frame are adapted to pass freely so that the blocks are slidably associated with the frame members. Where the trousers-engaging elements pass into the blocks 22, the wire forming these elements is bent into the form of an inverted V, as shown at 24 in Figs. 1 and 4. A recess 25 adapted to receive the V-shaped wire end 24 is provided in the block 22, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, and projections 26 (see Fig. are provided at the edges of the recess opening which are adapted to be bent over as shown at 21 (see Fig. 4) to retain the V-shaped wire within the block. At the other end, the block is provided with an opening 28 into which the curved ends 29 of the hook element 39 (see Figs. 1 and 5) are adapted to be received and retained. Blocks 3| are likewise provided with passages 32 adapted to permit the side elements of the frame to slide therein, and recesses 33 are provided in the bottoms of the blocks 3! within which the curved ends 34 of the wire forming the trousers-engaging elements are received. The ends 34 of the wire are secured in the blocks 3| by deforming or riveting the metal of the blocks so that it overlies the wire ends as shown at 35 in Fig. 9. This can easily be done with a punch or chisel.

As in the case of the device shown in Fig. 2, the hook element 30 is formed of wire bent as shown and having diverging, resilient arms 36. The ends 29 of these arms engage the blocks 22 and normally urge the trousers-engaging elements apart but by manually squeezing the arms 36 toward each other the trousers-engaging elements are drawn towards each other to facilitate the insertion thereof in the bottoms of the trousers.

From a consideration of the foregoing, it will be quite clear. that all of the separate elements of my device may be preformed and assembled together merely by passing the U-shaped frame members through the eyes in the trousers-engaging elements or through the passages in the blocks and thereafter securing the U-shaped members together by means of the central sleeve element 4.

While I have described my invention in its preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the words which I have used are words of description rather than of limitation. Hence, changes within the purview of the appended claims may be made without departing from the true scope and spirit of my invention in its broader aspects.

What I claim is:

In a trousers hanger, the combination with trousers-engaging elements, of a hanger member engageable therewith and biased normally to maintain said elements in spaced-apart, trousersengaging relation but'manually operable to draw said elements towards each other to facilitate the insertion thereof in the bottoms of a pair of trousers, and a closed frame comprising spaced parallel members upon which said elements are slidably mounted.

2. In a trousers hanger, the combination with trousers-engaging elements, of a hanger member cooperating therewith normally to maintain said elements in spaced-apart, trousers-engaging relation but manually operable to draw said elements towards each other to facilitate the insertion thereof in the bottoms of a pair of trousers, and a closed frame comprising spaced parallel members upon which said elements are slidably mount ed; said frame comprising two U-shaped members and means securing the same together with the open ends of said members in opposed relation.

3. A garment hanger comprising a frame member having two spaced parallel wire portions, two garment-engaging elements slidably mounted on said parallel wire portions and movable towards and away from each other and comprising a plurality of depending wire loops whereby said elements are adapted to engage garments of different size, and a hook element comprising diverging arms one cooperating with each of said garment-engaging elements and normally urging said elements apart in garment-engaging position when said hanger is suspended by said hook element.

4. A garment hanger comprising a frame member having two spaced parallel wire portions, two garment-engaging elements slidably mounted on said parallel wire portions and movable towards and away from each other, and a hook element comprising diverging arms, the extremity of one of said arms being secured to one of said garment-engaging elements, and the other of said arms being provided with a curved cam slot through which a portion of the other garmentengaging element passes and with which it cooperates as a cam follower to move said garment-engaging elements towards and away from each other.

5. A garment hanger comprising a closed frame of wire including two spaced parallel disposed portions, two garment-engaging elements comprising wire bent to form a plurality of loops disposed in parallel planes and slidably mounted on said parallel portions to move toward and away from each other and a hook element formed of resilient wire and comprising diverging arms, one cooperating-with each of said garment-engaging elements and normally urging said elements apart in garment-engaging position when said hanger is suspended by said hook element.

6. A garment hanger comprising a closed Wire frame including two spaced parallel portions, two garment-engaging elements comprising wire bent to form a plurality of loops disposed in parallel planes and slidably mounted on said spaced parallel portions to move toward and away from each other, and a hook element formed of wire comprising diverging arms, one of said arms being rotatably connected to one of said garment-engaging elements and the other of said arms being formed as a closed loop through which a portion of the other garment-engaging element passes and with which it cooperates as a cam follower to move said garment-engaging elements towards and away from each other.

7. A garment hanger comprising two U-shape wire elements, means securing said elements together with the ends thereof in opposed relation to form a closed frame, garment-engaging means slidably mounted on said frame to move towards and away from each other and a wire hook element havingdiverging arms connected to said garment-engaging means and biased normally to maintain said garment-engaging means in spaced-apart, garment-engaging relation when said hanger is suspended by said hook element.

' WALTER W. KEYS. 

